Black Businesses In DC Push Back Against DEI Rollbacks At Retailers Like Walmart And Target

by Jeroslyn JoVonn February 6, 2025 Black DMV residents are taking back their buying power in response to mega-retailers scaling back DEI efforts, Black-owned businesses in the DMV area are pushing back against mega-retailers that have scaled back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Locals are turning to DEI Watch, a newly launched website by Alexandria, Virginia-based entrepreneur DeShuna Spencer. The website tracks corporate accountability on DEI initiatives and helps consumers make informed decisions about which brands to support or boycott. Spencer, the founder of the Black storytelling streaming platform KweliTV, launched DEI Watch to promote transparency around businesses’ stances on inclusion efforts and empower consumers to make informed purchasing decisions. Spencer isn’t calling for boycotts of certain businesses, “but if you want to, we wanted to create a platform that’s as accurate as possible,” she told Axios. The site provides links to company pages or news sources, categorizing retailers into three groups: “dismantled” for companies that have scaled back DEI efforts, “committed” for those maintaining active DEI initiatives, and “funded” for businesses that have made significant donations supporting Donald Trump’s return to the White House. While some companies scaling back DEI efforts made national headlines, Spencer expressed surprise upon...